Mira~
05-31-2004, 11:36 AM
Jordan University delegates in Israel in effort to set up branch
By Yulie Khromchenco, Haaretz Correspondent
Delegates from the Al-Ahliyya University in Amman, Jordan met Monday with Education Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) to advance the establishment of a university branch in Israel.
University director and owner Mahar Hourani told Livnat that he is determined to cooperate with Israel despite the threats voiced against the initiative from Jordan and the Arab world.
"I am delighted at this special request and see it as a positive step toward strengthening the spirit of peace and our national interests," said Livnat. Director general of the council for higher education, Shosh Berlinsky, was also present at the meeting. She assured that the council would examine licensing of the university according to accepted norms.
Hourani told Livnat that some 500 Syrian students studying at the university threatened to leave the university should the initiative materialize.
During his visit, Hourani invited Livnat to visit Jordan and to give a lecture to Jordanian students on the educational system in Israel. Livnat said that she would consider the invitation.
Mediation between the education minister, who also serves as the chair for the council for higher education, and the Hournai family was made by Eitan Ben-Zur, the former director general of the foreign office, who is due to be appointed president of the Jordanian branch in Israel.
Several buildings have been scouted including a hotel in Nahariya and a building in the Sharon area, which will be leased for three years, during which time a permanent building will be erected.
The university is due to cater primarily to the Arab sector in Israel. During the meeting Hourani said that he would also like Jewish students to enroll, as well as Arab students from the neighboring Arab countries. Some 7,000 students are enrolled at the university, including Syrian, Iraqi, U.S. and Israeli Arabs. The university is divided into six faculties and offers engineering, medicine, pharmaceuticals, computer sciences, humanities, arts, law, economics and administration.
The university received the approval of Jordan's higher education council to grant BA degrees in these subjects.
The Al-Ahliyya University, owned by the Hourani family, was established in 1990 and is the first private university in Jordan. The Hourani family conducts tourism and industrial business throughout Jordan, Lebanon, and Dubai.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/433672.html
By Yulie Khromchenco, Haaretz Correspondent
Delegates from the Al-Ahliyya University in Amman, Jordan met Monday with Education Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) to advance the establishment of a university branch in Israel.
University director and owner Mahar Hourani told Livnat that he is determined to cooperate with Israel despite the threats voiced against the initiative from Jordan and the Arab world.
"I am delighted at this special request and see it as a positive step toward strengthening the spirit of peace and our national interests," said Livnat. Director general of the council for higher education, Shosh Berlinsky, was also present at the meeting. She assured that the council would examine licensing of the university according to accepted norms.
Hourani told Livnat that some 500 Syrian students studying at the university threatened to leave the university should the initiative materialize.
During his visit, Hourani invited Livnat to visit Jordan and to give a lecture to Jordanian students on the educational system in Israel. Livnat said that she would consider the invitation.
Mediation between the education minister, who also serves as the chair for the council for higher education, and the Hournai family was made by Eitan Ben-Zur, the former director general of the foreign office, who is due to be appointed president of the Jordanian branch in Israel.
Several buildings have been scouted including a hotel in Nahariya and a building in the Sharon area, which will be leased for three years, during which time a permanent building will be erected.
The university is due to cater primarily to the Arab sector in Israel. During the meeting Hourani said that he would also like Jewish students to enroll, as well as Arab students from the neighboring Arab countries. Some 7,000 students are enrolled at the university, including Syrian, Iraqi, U.S. and Israeli Arabs. The university is divided into six faculties and offers engineering, medicine, pharmaceuticals, computer sciences, humanities, arts, law, economics and administration.
The university received the approval of Jordan's higher education council to grant BA degrees in these subjects.
The Al-Ahliyya University, owned by the Hourani family, was established in 1990 and is the first private university in Jordan. The Hourani family conducts tourism and industrial business throughout Jordan, Lebanon, and Dubai.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/433672.html